Congress MLA from Chikkaballapura in Karnataka, K Sudhakar, sparked controversy on Tuesday, 21 May, with his tweet saying EVM manipulation has nothing to do with the exit poll results.
The Congress MLA’s comments are coming at a time when opposition parties are intensifying their demand that votes polled on EVMs be tallied with the VVPAT count before the counting starts, and not after the last round.
In a memorandum submitted to the EC on Tuesday, 21 May, opposition leaders have also demanded 100 percent counting of VVPAT paper slips in all polling stations of the Assembly segment if any discrepancy is found anywhere during VVPAT verification.
The EC, however, has denied all allegations of EVM tampering, stating that the EVMs seen being transported in viral videos are from the ‘reserved, unused’ stock and had not been used in these Lok Sabha elections.
‘In Exit Polls, You Can’t Blame EVMs’: Sudhakar
Speaking to Times Now, Sudhakar said that the role of EVMs could only be raised once the election results were out.
“The role of EVMs comes only after the results are out. Then you can probably, if you don’t like the results, if it is not in your way, then you can start blaming EVMs or anything. But at exit polls, you cant blame EVMs”K Sudhakar, Congress MLA
He also went on to say that instead of laying the blame on EVMs, parties should ‘rediscover’ the reasons behind the loss.
“When we win, elections are fine we say. then elections we lose, we blame the EVMs. That’s not the thing. We need to rediscover ourselves why we have lost out to,” he told Times Now.
‘Right in Saying Exit Polls Results Have Nothing to do with EVMs’: Sudhakar
Answering a question on whether he feared being pulled up by his party as his comments might go against the official stance of the party, the MLA said that he was merely voicing his personal opinion.
“No, why? Its my personal opinion and I am right in saying that exit poll results have nothing to do with EVMs,” he stated.
(With inputs from Times Now)
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